WHEREAS, localities benefit from, and support, competition and
innovation and technology neutrality; and

WHEREAS, America needs an affordable and modern communications
infrastructure to ensure the rapid dissemination of new and
emerging technologies in which neither economic status nor
location should be a barrier for citizens while preserving
traditional local communications regulatory and compensation
authority; and

WHEREAS, federal communications policies should not undermine
the ability of local government to protect the health and
welfare of their residents by diminishing local authority to
manage public rights-of-way, to zone, or to collect just and
fair compensation for the use of public assets; and

WHEREAS, cities have a fundamental responsibility to protect the
public health and welfare through the exercise of police powers
vested in them by action of their residents or the operation of
state law; and

WHEREAS, local government must have access to and use of
effective and reliable emergency communications systems; and

WHEREAS, the ability of a government to impose and collect taxes
to fund its operations is an essential authority of any
government, including local government; and

WHEREAS, local governments should have the ability to provide
their local communities with telecommunications facilities and/or services; and

WHEREAS, local governments are the only appropriate jurisdiction
to oversee community needs assessments for community media and
related public service obligations; and

WHEREAS, local government supports universal service and the
nation’s long held communications policy to provide affordable
service to all Americans; and

WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors has played
a major role in every communications legislative discussion
since 1984;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Conference
of Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to support a
balanced federalist approach that encourages new innovation and
technology while preserving appropriate authority for local
government to protect their citizens, particularly as it relates
to public safety and homeland security, promoting local
competition and economic development, taxation, universal
access, rights-of-way management, and consumer protection; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to honor local
government communications taxing authority and make it clear
that localities must retain full communications taxing authority
flexibility, as does the federal government, to structure their
tax policies in a manner that best serves their citizens; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to oppose efforts
to curb the ability of local officials to collect local
communications taxes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to oppose actions
that have the direct or indirect effect of preempting local
government from collecting revenue from wireless services
transactions, sales, or other means; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to include public
safety obligations, such as E911 and CALEA, in all
communications platforms, regardless of technology; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to require the FCC
to accelerate E911 deployment, including next generation
technology and deployment of emergency information and systems;
and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to provide
sufficient spectrum and funding to obtain interference-free
interoperable emergency communications; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to make spectrum
designated for public safety use available by January 1, 2007
and mandate that commercial transmissions will not interfere
with public safety communications; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to preserve and
strengthen the ability of state and local government to protect
and warn the public through emergency alert systems; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that localities benefit from, and
support, competition and innovation and technology neutrality
and therefore, The United States Conference of Mayors urges the
Administration and Congress to make certain localities retain
the authority to ensure nondiscriminatory access to essential
facilities, to prevent incumbents from using market power to
stifle competition and innovation, and to maintain consumer
safeguards when market forces fail; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that industry must respect the rights of
local government to act in the best interest of their citizens
as the owners/trustees of the local rights-of-way; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to make clear in
federal law that rent and other payments for use of public
rights-of-way is not limited to cost reimbursement and
compensation based on market value for public rights-of-way is
appropriate and legal, including but not limited to,
compensation for easements, pole attachments and cell tower
sites; and
E IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to reject
to grant federal rights in state or local government property, and mandate that localities must
grant directly or indirectly access to rights-of-way at belowmarket
value prices, and thus deprive localities of their
property rights, which violates the Unfunded Mandate Law and the
Fifth Amendment prohibition against taking of property; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to honor the
principle that non rental costs, including maintenance, incurred
by local governments which result from communications
companies’ provision of services that make use of rights-of-way
be borne by that company; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress not to preempt or
restrict zoning and other local laws or requirements applied in
a non-discriminatory and timely manner that regulate or restrict
the location, placement, size, appearance, screening or siting
of transmission and receiving facilities and any other
communications facilities such as satellite dishes, radio
towers, broadcast facilities, microwave facilities, equipment
housing and similar facilities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress make clear in
federal policy that local government should have the ability to
provide their citizens with communications facilities and/or
services, including community broadband systems, by prohibiting
any legislation that prevents, has the effect of preventing, or
in any way impairs the ability of local governments from
providing communications facilities and/or services, if a local
government determines that it is in the best interest of its
community; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress not to preempt
local authority to negotiate and grant franchises to video
providers regardless of the technology used, and thereby
eliminate the ability of localities to address specific local
needs, including requirements such as institutional networks,
public education and government (PEG) channels; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to support that
cable modem service should be classified as a “cable” service,
not as an information service, or otherwise, thereby subjecting
the service to oversight, such as requirements to comply with
customer service standards, consumer privacy protection, antiredlining
requirements and universal buildout and offerings
throughout communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to support
universal access policies that promote universal and affordable
access to communications services including the federal and
state universal service funds, the E-Rate program, Lifeline and
Linkup, urban and rural infrastructure support mechanisms, and
obligations ensuring equitable cable and broadband deployment;
and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to support the
principle that satellite companies should not be exempt from
public interest requirements as public, education and government
(PEG) channels; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to adopt rules and
regulations to promote diversity and ensure non-discriminating
treatment for local minority leased access programming; and
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to oppose noncompetitive
broadcast ownership caps that may facilitate
concentrated ownership by a limited number of individuals, work
to protect diversity in broadcast ownership, authorize local
governments to develop local media solutions and resources that
meet their constituents’ need, affirm that local governments are
the appropriate jurisdiction to oversee community needs
ascertainments for community media and related public service
obligations, and The United States Conference of Mayors urges
the communications industry to develop tangible franchise or
related ownership relations, or otherwise establish genuine
business relationships with minority and female-owned
businesses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of
Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to embrace the
principle that states and localities are best positioned to effectively respond to a wide variety of consumer concerns
regarding communications services, including but not limited to,
complaints related to service quality and affordability,
reliability, deceptive practices, billing practices, privacy and
criminal activity.